A Rex Energy well site is along a road in Carrollton. Mary McCleary says state and federal policymakers are hurting the state.

Written by

Dan Horn

When Ohio Gov. John Kasich pitched his budget a few months ago, he made a big deal about a "fracking tax" that would bring billions of dollars to the state in the coming years.

It was only fair, he said, for Ohioans to share in the bounty of the shale oil boom going on in their own backyard. Almost 60 percent of Ohioans agreed, telling pollsters they favored higher taxes on oil and gas drillers.